Bangkok: Isao – Caterpillar sushi with Annie

I met with Annie for lunch at Isao, which is one of Annie’s favorite sushi spots. It’s a Japanese fusion restaurant, which has been around for a while now, but which still manages to surprise and amaze people (including me, their newest fan) with the creative take on Japanese cuisine.

I left Annie in charge of ordering the food, and she picked a selection of Isao’s signature dishes including Jackie (a maki-caterpillar), the Volcano and the Sushi Sandwich. My favorite was the Volcano, which was a dish made of small scallops fried in a special sauce that transformed them into a delicious, concentrated goo. I ate it on top of the garlic-fried rice as Annie suggested, and it was very, very tasty.

I usually prefer the Asian way of sharing the dishes contrary to the European style of eating, where you’re stuck with whatever one dish you’ve ordered, but at Isao, I would definitely recommend you to go European and order The Volcano just for you to enjoy, because that stuff is too good to share. Sorry Annie, for eating a lot more than my share of that plate:)

After our lunch at Isao, we went for coffee at one of the cafes at the new, sleek EM Quartier Mall, and then came the unavoidable: The selfie moment! The first couple of shots turned out really bad and my face looked about three times the size of Annie’s. It’s only twice the size in real life, so I blamed the lighting. Annie was polite enough to agree, so we went outside the café to take the selfie instead:)

• The easiest way to get to Isao is by Skytrain. Get off at Phrom Phong station and walk down Sukhumvit Soi 31. After 150m you’ll find Isao on your left hand side (look for the purple sign and bamboo front)

• Don’t leave without ordering The Volcano. On top of garlic fried rice that dish is out of this world.

• Basic maki rolls are around 200THB while the more fancy stuff is 300-400THB.

• Japanese restaurants can be very fancy, but Isao is a rather casual place, and there’s no dress code, but for dinner, I would probably dress up a bit.